Wednesday, March 02, 2016

The Lesbian Eeyore

Carrie Brownstein really needs no introduction to gay ladies. Sleater-Kinney, hello. The out bisexual artist has been on the scene since the 90s and just keeps getting better. Then there’s also “Portlandia,” where she plays all manner of kooky boys and girls and girls who like girls and boys you like girls and nearly everything else in between. But in the last year she has become something even more specifically iconic to us gay ladies. Carrie is now officially the Lesbian Eeyore. Hey, don’t get mad at me. I didn’t coin the phrase. The New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum did. I’m just repeating it for prosperity. The good news, Carrie is clearly down with her new title.

And she did earn the title, after all. Last year she was the also-ran of lesbians in not one but two high-profile projects. The first was the Cate Blanchett-Rooney Mara thirt-fest “Carol.” And the second was the second season of “Transparent.” [Warning: Mild spoilers for both follow]

In “Carol,” Carrie shows up in a short but memorable role near the end. When Therese goes to the apartment party after leaving Carol, Carrie shows up as The Other Lesbian. Poor dear, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with her. She was perfectly lovely. But once you’ve gone Cate, you can never go back.

In “Transparent,” Carrie continues her recurring role as Ali’s best friend, Syd. In the first season, it was clear Syd wanted more out of their relationship. In the second, Ali goes for it. But, these being the fantastically fucked up Pfeffermans, things go downhill fast. So, once again, poor Carrie.

Well, if you’re going to be the embodiment of the rejected lesbian love interest, you couldn’t do it with more style and class as Carrie.